Players at Heart
by Rauros Falls
Summary: Mages are are all players at heart. Daine applies for a scholarship in Tortal College of Theatre Arts and ends up getting more than she bargained for. A modernization of Wild Magic.
1. The Interview

**A/N: I hate cats right now. I had to rewrite about half of this because my stupid cat pulled the mouse off the desk and managed to erase a bunch what I just wrote**

**So, anyway, this has been bouncing around in my head for quite some time now. I finally just sat down to write it, and here it is!**

**And finally, if anyone feels like helping me with "Dare to Love" I would _very much appriciate it!_ And now on with the show.**

**Disclaimer: You think I own this? Mouse manure! It all belongs to Tamora Pierce.**

**Players at Heart**

**The Interview**

Alone in a small, messy office Ms. Onua Chamtong sat swiveling back and forth in her office chair. After a few minutes, she stopped and checked a schedule book, looked at her watch, and glanced back at the book again.

Her finger traveled down the page to rest on the words filling the "Monday, 10:00 am" space. _Veralidaine Sarrasri. Private interview._

Onua checked her watch once more. It was read 10:47. She sighed. Tortall College of Theatre Arts did not cater to tardiness, but the girl's application stated that she was interested in the stage animal training program, and they desperately needed more people for that program. Jonathan, CEO and president (not to mention founder) of Tortall College, had told her the program would have to close if they lost much more money on it.

Onua was the head of the Corus Scholarship Board as well as the teacher of a majority of the classes in the animal training program. She wanted to give the scholarship to someone interested in animal training, not just another actor.

So Onua waited.

She didn't have to wait long. At exactly 10:49, a timid knock sounded on her door.

"Come in." Onua directed.

The door opened to reveal a smallish girl with unruly brown hair and grey-blue eyes. Although she was very quiet and shy, Onua noticed a stubborn chin and a fire hidden behind her eyes. The girl was also breathing hard and her face was flushed, as if she had been running.

"Excuse me, but are you Ms. Chamtong? I was supposed to have an interview with her."

Onua nodded. "I am. You are Ms. Sarrasri?"

The girl nodded. "But please ma'am, call me Daine."

"Alright, Daine, please sit." Onua paused and indicated a chair.. "I hope you realize you are fifty minutes late."

Daine studied the patters in the carpet. "Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. I missed the bus."

"How did you get here?"

She sank lower in the chair. "I ran."

"You ran? How far away do you live?" Onua asked incredulously. This girl _ran_ for fifty minutes just to get to an interview? I wonder why she didn't try rescheduling.

"About seven miles."

"Seven miles! That's…" Onua stopped to calculate. "Pretty fast." She finally said.

Daine shrugged and didn't reply. There was an awkward pause before Onua spoke again.

"So you're applying for the Corus Scholarship?"

"Yes'm."

"What can you offer TCTA? Why should we give you this scholarship?"

"I… I'm a fair hand with animals, all kinds."

After waiting to see if she had more to say, Onua asked, "How old are you again, Daine?"

"Eighteen."

Hmm… She doesn't _look _eighteen. "Do you have any identification to prove that?"

Daine bit her lip. "No'm. All of our… _my_ belongings were lost in a fire. I was out camping when it happened. All I have is a tent, sleeping bag, my cell phone, and a few other little things."

"Oh Daine, I'm sorry. Is there someone who could vouch for you?"

"My family died in the fire. My only family is my horse now." Daine slowly took a breath. "But it wouldn't matter. I'm not really eighteen. I'm sixteen."

"Well, I'm very, very sorry Daine, but this scholarship is only available if you're over eighteen."

Daine sighed. "I know."

Onua was frustrated. She really wanted to get someone into the animal training program, and she really,_ really_ wanted to help Daine. But due to certain rules, she couldn't change the age limit on the scholarship.

Daine spoke again. "Please, may I just work with some of the animals? Then you could see if I'm worth keeping even if I'm young."

Onua argued mentally with herself before consenting. "Okay, but you have to promise not to tell anyone I let you do this. And don't hurt yourself. I could loose my job in a lawsuit, but I trust you for some reason."

Daine brightened immediately. "Oh, don't worry! Animals tend to like me."

Onua had to bite back the comment, _that's what they all say._

**A/N: Well, I was going to go farther, but this seemed like a good place to stop. Please tell me what you thought.**


	2. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Guess what, guys? I have good news for anyone who is actually still waiting for and update on this...

It's summer!! This means REGULAR UPDATES. At least for a little while. I'm back from my unintentional hiatus. And I bought the Immortals series so I can actually check stuff.

I'm also looking for a beta for this story (and a couple of others possibly) so if anyone wants to try their hand at betaing, PM me.

Last but not least, I am also in the planning stages of two other fics. One Tamora Pierce and one Twilight. Watch for them!


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